Over 1,000 police and security guards have been assigned to My Dinh Stadium as Vietnam play the Philippines in the 2018 AFF Suzuki Cup semi-final second leg on Thursday evening.

Vietnamese football fans gather at the Hoan Kiem Lake to celebrate a victory of the national football team in the AFF Suzuki Cup 2018

The match will start at 7.30 pm at My Dinh Stadium.

Hanoi Police Department have deployed plainclothes officers to prevent pickpocketing while the traffic police will be posted at 300 intersections and collaborate with other departments to escort the teams to the stadium.

They will also be responsible for public order and curbing illegal racing after the match. According to Senior Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Ngoc Me, the fans often go onto the streets when the home team win and some groups may take advantage of the situation to organise illegal racing.

On the side, the managers at My Dinh Stadium confirmed that they have just removed 40 chained concrete balls displayed at the stadium at the request from the Vietnamese Football Federation who superstitiously claimed bring bad luck for the national football team.

The chained balls at My Dinh Stadium are removed on December 5

Kieu Huu Tho, a fan living near My Dinh Stadium said he supported the decision, reasoning that the chained balls mean blocked energy. "Our team won when playing overseas but mostly have drawn or lost at home. A moving ball creates energy. But these balls are chained. They should be removed in the long term anyway," he said.

However, many agreed that this should be considered a fun story as skills and strength of a football team will decide the outcome of a match.